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Wednesday, 5 August 2015

Eli and Kate's Humanist Wedding in their garden

First of all, it was at home, in their garden, which is a cook's paradise. All their raised beds were brimming with prime produce just waiting for the wedding to be over so they could be picked.

They decorated the entire garden with bunting, put up a big gazebo on the patio to provide a sheltered space for sitting and eating or drinking and dressed up the tables really simply with a checkered tablecloth and some flowers in a champagne bottle.

Weddings are all about making people feel welcome. As they wrote on their blog, "Something we felt was important was that our guests, some of whom had never met each other, felt comfortable and able to chat to each other. So we asked each of them to submit a photo and a small paragraph telling us about themselves. We then turned this into a small booklet to go with the order of ceremony that everyone was given when they arrived".

Two of the most important ones couldn't be with us, Eli's little brother Arlen and his wife Diane, so Eli and Kate set up a a Google hangout so they could watch the ceremony live.

Weddings are all about presents: Kate and Eli really excelled here. Books were one of the first things that brought them together, so they chose books for all of their guests, which came custom-wrapped in ribbon, with a packet of wildflower seeds, and an ingenious bottle opener in the form of a key, so everyone got a very special keepsake of the day.

The other really original touch was that they brewed their own beers - that's right, beers, plural. Not just a Black IPA, and a Belgique Ale, but Dandelion & Burdock or Ginger Ale for the non-drinkers. How cool was that? Even better, Kate built the bar from which they were served. And an elegant piece of craftswomanship it was too.

What else did they do? Well here are just some of the things that Eli said on the blog

For our wedding Kate and I wanted all of our guests to play an actual part in the day - after all they are our important witnesses to a life changing event. So we did a couple of little things so that our guests could really leave their mark on our day and leave us with a little souvenir or two from them.

We left little antique keys with paper labels attached to them on a table and we asked our guests to write on these paper tags and tell us their “key to a happy marriage”. Kind of like a guest book but more personal.

We also asked each guest to leave a fingerprint on a print of a bare tree, making the leaves of the tree. This is now framed and hanging in the house as a reminder of all our family and friends who shared our day.

I could go on but I think you get the picture: it was a gloriously happy ceremony, thanks to all the love and imagination Kate and Eli brought to it. I was really touched to be given two bottles of the bridal brew for me and Mrs M.

I got all these great photos and a lovely wee note the other day that said, "We're both sitting here grinning like mad things after going through all the photos and reminiscing. Now I COMPLETELY get why you do the job you do".

What can I add, other than my thanks to Eli and Kate for making me a part of their very, very special day. #EliandKateForever

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About Me

I've been a Humanist Celebrant since October 2005, and it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life! I'm also the first ever Humanist Chaplain to the University of Edinburgh. If you'd like to get in touch, please click here to send me an email, or call 0777 0555 224